June 14, 2001 - When Namco and Mass Media produced the Namco Museum series for the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast, the reviews didn't fare so well because of the medium they were made for -- when you've got 3D graphics out the yin-yang, folks expect a bit more for their gaming buck. But on the Game Boy Advance, these classic arcade games really shine -- the added power of the GBA compared to the Game Boy Color makes it possible for the portable versions to be as accurate as they can be. And they're more suited for the portable market anyway: pop in, play for a few minutes, and put away for later.

Features

• Five classic arcade games
• Options to change elements within each game
• Online tips and tricks
• Only for Game Boy Advance

The pack for the Game Boy Advance includes five classic Namco hits from the era that spanned 1979-1982: Galaxian, Galaga, Dig Dug, Pole Position, and the crown of the collection, Ms. Pac-Man. Each game is accurately represented as closely as it could on the smaller screen, complete with true-to-the-game sound effects as well as controls to customize basic elements such as points per extra lives.

Ms. Pac-Man is worth the price for the package alone, as the dot-munching game is as good today as it was two decades ago. The game comes in two different display flavors: a reduced-resolution full-screen mode, and a pixel-perfect, vertical-scrolling option. The full-screen display features the same gameplay, but the reduced resolution makes it difficult to watch the eyes of the ghosts to see where they're turning. The scrolling mode is a perfect representation of the game, as the GBA's screen width is identical to the arcade game's width (240 pixels), but the screen must scroll due to the fact that the whole maze can't fit on-screen at once. The developers added a neat option where you can hit the L or R button to manually scroll the maze up or down to see above and below the action, similar to when you glance up or down on the machine. The beginning and cartoon music isn't as "plinky" as it originally sounded on the arcade machine, but the rest of the audio is spot-on.

Galaga is also one of the top titles in the package -- this is the classic bug shooter of old, where these little guys can actually take one of your ships away from your fleet. It's only in full-screen mode, which means the graphics had to be reduced in size to fit on-screen. Even so, the gameplay and sound remain completely intact, and it's refreshing to finally play the game on a handheld again (the GBC remake was butchered).

Dig Dug is also a pixel-perfect adaptation on the Game Boy Advance, and this version is only available in a scrolling mode. But since this tunnel/inflation challenge moves at a leisurely pace (compared to Ms. Pac-Man), you don't need to see the whole screen -- though I'm not sure why they didn't offer the same scroll up/down function that they included in Ms. Pac-Man.

Pole Position is probably the most charming of the bunch, as this game looks really, really cool on the Game Boy Advance screen. The game is the most advanced of the bunch, offering scaling sprites and digitized speech during the game. It's nothing more than a fast-paced, semi-3D racing game on one single track, but it's still a cool game to pop in every now and again to see if you can actually snag the Pole Position. Just beware of the goofy controls, since the original arcade machine used a spinning steering wheel to maneuver the car left and right.

Galaxian is only in this package as a token inclusion, as you'd never play this game after popping in Galaga -- this game was designed back in 1979 as Namco's own take on Space Invaders. It's fun to listen to the classic sound effects, but the gameplay is extremely dated and bland.

My biggest issue with this package is that it doesn't go beyond what it is -- brilliant ports of classic arcade games. Mass Media didn't include any retro features like an art gallery or historical information of each of these titles (which would go with the whole "Museum" name, right?). It would have also been nice if there were two player hot potato modes for each of the titles that originally included it -- as is, they're all set for one player.

Closing Comments
Namco Museum is a real treat for folks who still love the cut-and-dry gameplay of the classics -- with the exception of Galaxian, each of these games are fantastic pick-up-and-play titles that offer a quick gaming fix. The package could have been a lot more than it ended up being, but the final product is a great cartridge package that begs for a sequel -- there are plenty of other classic Namco games in the company's line-up just itching to be shrunk down for play on the Game Boy Advance.

Rating	Description
out of 10	click here for ratings guide
5.0	Presentation It won't blow you away in its menu options -- it's very straightforward.
6.0	Graphics The graphics, apart from the menu system, are completely retro, with four color sprites and 16 color backgrounds. But that's the way it should be.
8.0	Sound Bleeps, plinks, kapows from twenty years ago. And Mass Media put all that together in a nifty little intro song.
9.0	Gameplay The only game with weird controls is Pole Position -- the rest of the bunch, a four year old can play.
9.0	Lasting Appeal There's no way you can get enough Ms. Pac-Man. And Galaga and Dig Dug are classics that can be played over and over and...
8.5 Great	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)